Open models that run on an 8GB computer

Checked 6 November 2026. US dollars. No affiliate links.

7 open models in our catalog fit an 8GB computer: Gemma 4, Llama 3, DeepSeek R1, Dolphin (community), Hermes (community). 3 of them carry a permissive license (Apache 2.0 or MIT), 7 run with one Ollama command, 2 read images. Each figure comes from the maker's page or model card, checked 6 November 2026.

8GB: most laptops, an 8gb mac, an 8gb graphics card. A model that fits a smaller machine fits this one too, so the list runs from the smallest up. Want to filter by license, who set the behavior, or images? Use the model finder.

• Gemma 4 E2B

  Fits 8GB

  Google DeepMind · 2B effective parameters

  Phones, old laptops, quick private chat

  License

  Apache 2.0

  License rules

  None beyond keeping the notices

  Behavior

  Maker's own tuning

  Reads

  Text, Image, Audio

  Context

  128K

  Download

  2.9GB at 4-bit (Google's figure)

  ollama run gemma4:e2b

  Source · checked 6 November 2026 · Gemma 4 graded

• Gemma 4 E4B

  Fits 8GB

  Google DeepMind · 4B effective parameters

  The best first model for an 8GB machine

  License

  Apache 2.0

  License rules

  None beyond keeping the notices

  Behavior

  Maker's own tuning

  Reads

  Text, Image, Audio

  Context

  128K

  Download

  4.5GB at 4-bit (Google's figure)

  ollama run gemma4:e4b

  Source · checked 6 November 2026 · Gemma 4 graded

• Llama 3.2 3B

  Fits 8GB

  Meta · 3B parameters

  Very old or very small machines

  License

  Llama 3.2 Community License

  License rules

  Acceptable Use Policy; very large services (700M+ monthly users) need Meta's permission

  Behavior

  Maker's own tuning

  Reads

  Text

  Context

  128K

  Download

  2.0GB

  ollama run llama3.2:3b

  Source · checked 6 November 2026

• Llama 3.1 8B

  Fits 8GB

  Meta · 8B parameters

  The most-downloaded base for community retunes

  License

  Llama 3.1 Community License

  License rules

  Acceptable Use Policy; very large services (700M+ monthly users) need Meta's permission

  Behavior

  Maker's own tuning

  Reads

  Text

  Context

  128K

  Download

  4.9GB

  ollama run llama3.1:8b

  Source · checked 6 November 2026

• DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B

  Fits 8GB

  DeepSeek · 8B parameters

  Step-by-step reasoning on a small machine (it thinks out loud, so it is slower)

  License

  MIT (built on Qwen3 8B)

  License rules

  None beyond keeping the notices

  Behavior

  Maker's own tuning

  Reads

  Text

  Context

  128K

  Download

  5.2GB

  ollama run deepseek-r1:8b

  Source · checked 6 November 2026

• Dolphin 3.0 8B

  Fits 8GB

  Cognitive Computations · 8B (Llama 3.1 8B base) parameters

  A model that follows your system prompt rather than the maker's defaults

  License

  Llama 3.1 Community License (inherited)

  License rules

  Meta's Acceptable Use Policy still applies to a retune of Llama

  Behavior

  Community retune; its page says the system owner sets the guidelines

  Reads

  Text

  Context

  128K

  Download

  4.9GB

  ollama run dolphin3

  Source · checked 6 November 2026

• Hermes 3 8B

  Fits 8GB

  Nous Research · 8B (Hermes-3-Llama-3.1-8B) parameters

  Role-play, fiction and agents that should take direction from you

  License

  Llama 3.1 Community License (inherited)

  License rules

  Meta's Acceptable Use Policy still applies to a retune of Llama

  Behavior

  Community retune; Nous says it aligns the model to the user and gives the user strong steering

  Reads

  Text

  Context

  128K

  Download

  4.7GB

  ollama run hermes3:8b

  Source · checked 6 November 2026